State University General Education Requirement (SUNY-GER)
Instructions: Course Addition Reporting Template
Use the template on the following pages to apply for General Education approval for your course. Send the completed form to the Provost’s Office. After the Provost approves the submission, the Provost’s Office will send the form to SUNY for final approval. The Provost will notify all relevant parties of the final decision from SUNY.
Use the format set out on the following page when reporting courses that have been approved locally for any of the SUNY-GER categories. The System Guidelines for the Approval of State University General Education Requirement Courses are available at
Supply the information indicated in I-VIII of the Course Addition Reporting Template. Instructions/examples are provided in boldface. Use as much space as appropriate to provide the requested information–generally, this need not be more than a single page altogether. This document is not a form, but you may find it convenient to use it to create a template for your submissions. Campus-specific formats that clearly provide the information requested in I-VIII may also be used.
Recently, we have moved the GER course approval process to an online application. The Course Submission and Evaluation System (CourSES) is designed to allow campuses to:
- look up SUNY-Approved GER courses,
- submit GER courses for approval,
- check on the status of pending approvals, and
- communicate with reviewers in the Office of the Provost.
CourSES updates and replaces all previous methods of general education course approval, and is the only accepted method of submitting courses. Approved courses will be automatically integrated with the SUNY warehouse data submitted through SIRIS.
Access CourSES here:
Any questions about an offering’s conformity with campus and System guidelines will normally be conveyed within 30 days of receipt by the Provost’s Office. Campuses shall refrain from publicizing a course as a SUNY-GER offering before receiving confirmation from the Provost’s Office. Requests for expedited processing should be made at the time of submission.
State University General Education Requirement
Course Addition Reporting Template
CONTACT TAB
I. Campus.
[Campus name.]
II. Primary Campus Contact Person. Additional contacts if needed for specialized course information.
[Name, job title, email, phone]
If the relevant learning outcomes are being achieved across multiple courses, provide all solicited information in sections III-VII for all applicable courses, along with any other explanation that may be helpful or necessary.
COURSE TAB
III. Course Identification.
A. Dept./Subject Designator, Number, Title, # of credits, SUNY Course Id
[e.g., PHI 210 Ancient Philosophy, 3 credits, 99999]
Course Description.
B. Is this course also listed under another discipline? Identify additional course information.
CATEGORY TAB
IV. SUNY-GER Category/Categories.
[Enter the subject category or categories for which the course(s) have received local approval.]
- Does this course fully or partially satisfy the general education category?
- If PARTIALLY, identify additional components which complete the general education category.
- Have the student learning outcomes changed to meet the general education category requirements?
- If YES, enter year and term of course change.
- If category is Basic Communication, does this course fulfill oral or written skills?
ATTACHMENT TAB
V. Student Learning Outcomes.
[The purpose of this section is to provide greater specification to the catalog description so that the course can be reviewed in terms of the System guidelines.]
VI. Topical Outline.
[The purpose of this section is to provide greater specification to the catalog description so that the course can be reviewed in terms of the System guidelines.]
VII. List of Sample Readings.
[The purpose of this section is to provide greater specification to the catalog description so that the course can be reviewed in terms of the System guidelines.]
CORRESPONDENCE TAB
VIII. Please include any additional comments relevant to course approval.